


Our New Lives

by TR_Purin



Series: Dina Saga [2]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, PLEASE MORE TIEN/LAUNCH CONTENT IM DYING SQUIRTLE, Pregnancy, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Well the romantic tension eventually gets resolved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-03-15 18:03:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13618746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TR_Purin/pseuds/TR_Purin
Summary: After becoming pregnant, Launch makes the hard choice to leave Tien and Chiaotzu behind without telling them.  This begins a new chapter in all their lives.





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so. I am a Maladaptive Daydreamer and if you dont know what that is it basically means extremely vivid CONSTANT daydreaming. Like, I mean Constantly. This whole AU has been developing in my head for a couple months now and keeps growing and growing into a giant monster that I don't think I'll be able to write it all down because holy moly. The amount of small random details I have for this thing is... Wow.
> 
> Some notes: In this AU Launch has more 'control' over her personalities. Maybe thats not the right word but basically after doing some Mind Training with Roshi she now no longer has massive memory gaps. She does struggle with remembering stuff but its not as bad as it used to be. Uhhh I think thats all the disclaimer or whatever I have? 
> 
> OOH this is also unbeta'd and my work probably will never be because I am a shy person who cant get people to look at my work unless its 'done' hfjsdhkfj

Launch sighed as she stared up at the ceiling, laying on her bed in the guest room of Tien and Chiaotzu’s capsule house. She hasn’t been able to sleep the past few days and in fact hasn’t been able to focus much on anything. A couple times she almost caused a fire due to zoning out while cooking. Didn’t help she was feeling awful and wanted to throw up random times throughout the day.

She knew she was pregnant, she’d known for a while now but it took that positive test result she got earlier in the day to truly cement the fact in her head. She also felt stupid and reckless for getting herself into this situation. Yes, 'reckless’ is a perfect word to describe her Blonde self but this was something both sides of her should have thought through. Safe sex is such a basic concept and something both of them should have considered, but they where just too caught up in the moment to think about it... too caught up in each other.

It’s not like it was just one time though. They weren’t “Together” in any real romantic sense. But when you have two healthy adults living together who are both physically attracted to each other you KNOW what ends up happening! It’s such a cliche. But unlike those romantic movies, reality is harsh and cruel. Launch had fallen hard for Tien and had been interested in having a deeper relationship with him then... whatever this was. Tien hadn’t really shown any romantic interest in her and probably just thought of her as a friend. A friend he sometimes has sex with.

Launch kept tossing and turning in her bed. She wanted to tell him, she knew she NEEDED to tell him, but how could she? His main priority was to become stronger and train. Having to raise a child would distract him from that ultimate goal. Sure, he may be willing to put his major training on hold or at least not focus on it as much, but there is also the chance of him rejecting Launch and his child to focus on training.

That thought made Launch’s body grow cold. It was such a leap of logic that he would ever do something like that but even the slightest chance of rejection made her push away any plan of telling him.

She got out of her bed and walked to the kitchen. She didn’t even feel like she was really moving, almost like she was sleepwalking or possessed. She got out a pen and paper and began to write.

_Dear Tien and Chiaotzu,_

_I am sorry, but this time I won’t be coming back. Don’t worry about me I’ll be perfectly fine. I’ll also give up on the crime sprees so you don’t have to worry about me getting arrested._

_I would tell you two face to face but I don’t want there to be any tears over this. I will miss you two dearly but please do not look for me. It’s just time I go off on my own. Please stay safe._

_Love, Launch_

_PS: I know it’s useless to say ‘stay safe’ to you two, but I had to._

Launch wrote that she didn’t want any tears over her departure, but some tear drops ended up on the page anyway. She took the page and hung it on the fridge with a magnet. She headed to the door with her belongings and took one last look at the house she grew to love. She forced herself to look away as she threw the capsule containing her one wheeled motorcycle.

After getting on the bike she took a deep shuddering breath before taking off, leaving the place she almost called ‘home’ behind.


	2. A New Start?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jfkds i'm sorry this took long! I would have finished earlier but then I got FighterZ, Monster Hunter World, and saw Shape Of Water (which YOU NEED TO SEE RIGHT NOW OMG) which all have been occupying the majority of space in my brain. Anyway let's continue...

She had been on the road for a few days now. Her travelling had often needed to be cut short due to her own exhaustion. She had left with no plan to where the hell she was even going. Among the belongings she brought with her was her own capsule house so she at least had somewhere to stay. She needed to find a place to live, find a real honest job for once, and raise a kid.

Launch was riding her motorcycle again when she heard some strange voices shouting in the distance. She put her bike back in its capsule and headed towards the sound, sneaking through some bushes and trying to be careful not to make noise.

Through the bushes she could see two men with scarves around their faces threatening an older, portly man who was sitting on the ground. The two masked men seemed to be unarmed but could still be dangerous.

“Please! Just stop this and leave us alone!” pleased the older man on the ground.

“Shut your mouth old man!” One of the masked men said “You’ll regret ever resisting us!” He kicked the older mans arm.

Launch narrowed her eyes at the scene. She didn’t know what was happening but she knew she couldn’t ignore this. Besides, what better way to start her new honest life then by taking down some people who where just like she used to be.

She stayed where she was for a little while longer to get a better idea of what was happening and who these people where.

“Tch! Listen, just hand over your goddamn money and well leave you alone!”

“NO! I can’t do that!” The older man sat up and pleaded “I will never give anything to fiends like you!”

“Give it a rest old man! You’re the goddamn mayor! You probably got tons of Zeni laying around a few thousand won’t hurt you a bit” The other masked man said as he crouched down to see the older man face to face. “Its not that hard, just give us some fuckin’ Zeni and we’ll leave you all alone”

“And why should I believe that?” The older man’s face changed from terrified to furious “Why should I believe you’ll leave us alone? You’ll just come back again to demand more!”

Those words must have snapped something in the masked men because they then both pulled out handguns and aimed them right at the old mans head. The old man’s expression went back to that of fear, this time even moreso.

“Fine then, guess we’ll just take it all by force! Shouldn’t be too hard to take on a safe small town like yours!” One of the men threatened as he cocked his gun.

At this, Launch came out from her hiding spot and quickly opened the capsule containing her trusty Uzi.

“Alright that’s it! Drop your weapons and leave this old geezer alone!” She shouted as she aimed the large gun at the two men.

“Who the FUCK are you!” One of the men quickly turned around to aim his gun at Launch. She could tell he was shaking a bit, probably didn’t expect any actual resistance today.

“It doesn’t fuckin’ matter!” Launch snarled through gritted teeth, stepping closer to the men “Drop your guns and go away!”

“Listen here Blondie” One of the masked men lowered his gun a bit “this isn’t a place for a girlie like you-”

His words where cut off when Launch aimed her gun in the air and fired some warning shots.

“Next time that may be aimed at you two assholes” Launch aimed her gun back at the masked men “Again, leave NOW!”

Both men, now clearly scared, continued to point there guns at her before finally dropping them and turning to run.

“You fucking crazy bitch! You’ll regret this someday!” One of them yelled back as he ran off.

Launch put her gun back in its capsule and walked over to the older man who was still on the ground. She bent down and lent him her hand. He graciously took is and suddenly gave her a huge hug when he got up.

“Ohhh thank you! Thank you so much” The man was overjoyed and crying so hard is was comical.

“Uh, you’re welcome mister-”

“Souffle!” The man replied, letting Launch go afterwards. “I cant thank you enough for saving me! Please, there must be some way I can repay you!”

Launch felt a bit strange. She wasn’t used to helping people and being thanked by people in her blonde form and it was all feeling very surreal. She just stared at him for a minute or so before giving her reply.

“N-no I’m good. You don’t need to repay me-” Before she could finish, Mr. Souffle interrupted her.

“No! Oh no no no no no!” He was shaking his head wildly and stopped when he remembered something “Come! I have to get back to town! We can discuss this there!” Mr. Souffle grabbed Launch’s hand and started walking quickly.

It didn’t take the two long to arrive at Mr. Souffle’s destination, a quaint country town. An adorable little town like something you’d see in a movie. As soon as the two arrived a big crowd formed around them, all excited to see Mr. Souffle back.

“You’re back!”

“You’re alright!”

“Did they hurt you?”

“Are they gone?”

As Mr. Souffle tried to calm the crowd down, Launch just stared in shock at what was happening. She looked around her surroundings and saw a sign.

‘Souffle Town’

“Calm down everyone!” Mr. Souffle said to the crowd. They did as they where told. “As you can see I am unharmed and right as rain! Those bad men will no longer bother us and it’s all thanks to this lady here!” He gestured to Launch and the crowd then turned their attention to her. The gaggle of residents swarmed her thanking her for rescuing Mr. Souffle. Launch had no idea how to react to any of this and was looking for a way out. Eventually Mr. Souffle got the crowd to calm down once again and gestured for Launch to follow him. They ended up in the Town Hall.

“I’m very sorry about all that miss” Mr. Souffle apologized “Those bad men kidnapped me and where holding me for ransom! If I didn’t let them take what they wanted from my town they would have hurt me, or worse!” He explained. “I know you said you wanted no reward but I can’t just give you nothing! You saved me, no, my entire town! Please there must be something!”

Launch was about to protest again when something hit her. This place… it didn’t seem that bad. The people seemed nice, the town itself looked picturesque. It was almost like what she needed at the moment was just being handed to her!

“I…” She started, thinking a bit before continuing “This place, how good is it for children?”


	3. Settling In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think my assigned CIA agent must think I'm the one having a baby due to the research I have to do for this thing lol. Also again sorry if this seems rushed,,,

It didn’t take long for Launch to settle in to Souffle Town. The locals welcomed her with open arms and where very friendly. She found out that this town has been looking to expand for a while  so they where more then happy to welcome in her and her yet unborn child.

Getting a job was also a smooth process. The towns main draw is a restaurant called ‘Lunch Express’ which also delivers to other towns and cities. Launch got a job as a transporter making small to medium deliveries using her own motorcycle. For the time being she could do this job until she was too far along in her pregnancy, during this time she would do jobs in and around the restaurant that where less taxing on the body.

She checked her stomach in the mirror every morning to see if she was getting bigger. She was about 3 months in and her stomach bulge was visible. She put both her hands on her stomach and smiled softly. She was still scared, worried, but also happy and excited! At times it didn’t feel ‘real’ like this was all some surreal dream and she’d wake up in Tien’s arms.

Her smile faded when she thought of Tien. She kept trying to justify her decision of leaving and not telling him. She knew he had the right to know he was going to be a father but… would he even react well? Would he even want a kid? These thoughts made Launchs body turn cold, like her blood had turned to ice. What she did was wrong, but what else could she have done?

She also pondered the thought of what she should tell her child when they got old enough to wonder why all the other kids have a dad and not them (she didn’t think she’d end up marrying). Would she tell the truth? Lie and say he died before they where born? It wasn’t something she was looking forward to but she knew it was something that would have to be done eventually. Years from now, but eventually.

She had made some friends in town pretty quickly. One was a nice plain yet still pretty looking woman around her age who worked as a baker for Lunch Express named Cherry, and another was Cherry’s mother, one of the owners of the restaurant, an older grey haired woman named Poppy. The two of them gladly helped Launch settle in and assured her that she could come to them any time she needed someone to talk to.

That turned out to be a lot of times. Turns out being pregnant makes you very very emotional. Launch’s unique personality condition made simple mood swings turn into a wild roller coaster of unpredictability. Launch thought she was used to wild mood swings due to being born with two personalities, but this was a whole new experience all together.

“Yeah, I remember what it was like all those years ago” Poppy said as she fixed Launch and Cherry some tea. It was their day off today which meant it was time to just relax and chat.

“I remember you said I got the hiccups and kept you up at night!” Cherry replied with a giggle.

“Yeah, you where pretty active too” Poppy said as she brought over the cups of tea “Thought you’d be a boy because of that”

“Nope! Just an energetic tomboy” Cherry smiled.

“Heh, it’s a good thing you calmed down after a while. Honestly you where such a troublemaker you should have counted as two kids!” Poppy laughed and shook her head. She then turned to Launch “So, it’s still a bit to early to know for sure, but what are you hoping for?”

Launch set down her teacup and thought for a moment.

“I don’t really mind either way” Launch said with a smile, tucking a strand of blue hair behind her ear “I know they’ll be lovely no matter what”

“Yeah, that’s the safe answer” Poppy took a sip of her tea and then continued “Everyone has a preference! C’mon its not like what you say will be set in stone it’s just fun to predict”

Launch thought again. She thought back to when she looked after Goku and Krillin all those years ago. She did act a bit like a mother to those boys, at least her Blue self did. She also acted a bit motherly towards Chiaotzu once he stopped being wary around her. The mysterious pale child eventually grew fond of both sides of her, just like Goku and Krillin.

So she did have a bit of experiences taking care of young boys… but really deep in her heart she knew she wanted a daughter. There wasn’t any real reason, it was just what she had always pictured when she thought about being a mother. She put both hands on her stomach again and replied:

“A girl… I guess”

“Oh?” Cherry perked up “Yes! I can see both sides of you raising an adorable little girl!”

“Ah, really?” Launch blushed a bit.

The three women spent the rest of the day chatting and giving Launch advice. Launch had to leave early due to getting tired more easily these days. 

That night she laid awake in her bed. Her mind racing yet again with countless thoughts. She hoped she would be a good mother and give her child the best life she could. 

Launch didn’t actually remember anything about her own mother. Her parents had died when she was very young and she was passed around to many foster families. None of them could handle her dual personalities and she was eventually left on her own when she became to old to be adopted. Left on her own to fend for herself with nobody to turn to. That’s when she became a thief, or at least her Blonde side did. Blue wanted to find some place to live peacefully and find someone who accepted her, but Blondie didn’t trust anyone (and really, Blue didn’t trust many people either) and took her anger out on everyone else. It was a miracle that Goku and his friends where able to get through to her and finally give her a sense of belonging somewhere.

She prayed that this new life didn’t suddenly end like her previous one had.


	4. Birthday

The months have been going by quite quickly and Launch’s due date was fast approaching. She spent most of her free time picking out new furniture and toys for her child with the help of her new friends and co-workers. She also spent time discussing names, which turned out to be the hardest part so far.

The doctor did reveal to her that she was going to be having a girl, which not only made Launch extremely happy, but also helped narrow down some choices she was having trouble making.

The doctors had some concerns about her living alone. Since there was nobody else in the house it’d be really bad if there was an emergency or any sort of complication. They suggested that a midwife come over a few times a day to check up on her and help with anything she needed. Blue Launch openly appreciated this while Blondie seemed a bit more annoyed with everyone fussing over her.

She did appreciate it when Cherry and her husband, Basil, came over though because it felt less like a caretaker coming over and more like just spending time with friends.

Her workload at the restaurant lessened quite a bit. She went from delivering, to being a waitress, to small odd jobs, to being practically forced to take a leave. She hated not being able to work, she always hated sitting around with nothing to do. Her latest hobby ended up being watching dumb daytime TV and crying over cheesy Lifetime movies while eating a whole tub of ice cream. She really didn’t understand how people could stand being around her in this state since her mood swings where even worse then usual. Both sides of her would go from super cheerful, to snippy and angry, to breaking down and sobbing in a matter of minutes.

One of the first things Launch did when she moved in to this new place was hide and lock up all the weapons and the rest of the stolen money she had and it turned out that was a smart move. Launch just really wanted her daughter to arrive  _soon,_ for everyone's sake. Her wish seemed to come true.

She was in the middle of chatting with Cherry and Basil when it happened. She had been having contractions and false alarms quite a bit lately, but the sudden rush of liquid from between her legs along with the pain in her stomach conveyed that this time there was nothing false about  _this_ particular alarm.

She was thankful she was in her blue haired state during this because she was sure lots of things would have ended up broken if she where in her blonde form (including some bones).

The rush to the hospital and everything after was a blur of panic, pain, and fear. She had been in firefights and had almost died more times then any human being should have, but this was the most scared she had ever been. Her mind raced and played back every horrible thing that could happen during delivery. She calmed down a bit when the nurses and doctors told her to breathe and calm down. 

She knew she would have been more calm if Tien where with her. She tried to picture him sitting next to her holding her hand, telling her everything would be alright. Just imagining this gave her more courage and helped calm her even more. She was still scared, but now she knew she could go through with this.

Soon, after a final hard push, her effort paid off as she heard a loud cry fill the hospital room. She fell back onto the bed and finally relaxed her body after what felt like hours of labor.

The nurses cleaned off the newborn child and then handed it to her.

“Congratulations! It’s a girl” One of them said, placing the child in her mothers arms.

Launch smiled at her daughter. She had a small tuft of blonde hair and a bulge in the middle of her forehead. Launch knew what this meant, she had inherited Tien’s third eye.

“Do you have any names picked out?” The nurse asked.

Launch nodded. There was a name she had gotten very attached to ever since she first saw it in a book of baby names. “Dina”.

“She’s probably one of the calmest newborns I have ever seen” The nurse commented. 

A thought entered Launch’s mind at that statement. She took some of her hair and proceeded to tickle Dina’s nose. Her face wrinkled up and she sneezed, her hair turning to the same colour as Launch’s current hair colour in the process.

As soon as the transformation happened the baby suddenly let out a loud cry and began moving around while screaming. The hospital staff where all understandably concerned, but Launch just smiled and held her child closer.

 

\-----------------------

Many miles away, in the middle of meditation, Tien’s eyes opened suddenly as he gasped. He couldn’t explain the feeling that had just washed over him. It felt warm and made his heart race and he could not explain why.

“Tien?” Chiaotzu’s small voice broke him out of his trance “Is something wrong?”

“No... I’m-I’m fine” Tien stuttered. He stood up and tried to focus his mind again. There wasn’t any time to dwell on other things at the moment. Not when it was time to resume training to find those Androids that would be awakening in only 3 years.

Chiaotzu decided to drop the subject. He knew there was no real use in pursuing this.

As much as Tien wanted to put that feeling behind him though, in the back of his mind it would always stay. A part of him knew something was missing from his life ever since that day. But what was it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand she has arrived :D her name is pronounced Dee-Nah and its a pun on Dinner.... see I'm clever since Launch's Japanese name is Lunch :P


	5. A Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like the true star of this series! I have a ton planned for this character and she has become one of my favorite OCs!

_**6 years later** _

It was a perfect day to be out and about for young Dina. Her mother was working today and there was no school so she had a babysitter, but Dina’s blue haired side wanted to leave the house and didn’t like some random teenager telling her what to do. She ran off without telling the sitter so she could play on her own, but ended up sneezing and changing into her blonde personality.

The little three-eyed girl looked around, trying to figure out where she was. She was just outside of town and not at home where she knew she should be.

“Ohh… I must have ran off” She was worried she’d get in trouble, but her train of thought changed when she noticed some pretty wild flowers growing a few feet away from her. She ran towards them and started picking them. They would make a great present for her mother!

Dina began humming the theme to a show she liked while picking the flowers when some older kids walked over to her. She looked up at them with a curious expression and stood up.

“Ah, hello” She greeted them. There where three older boys. She recognized them from her school, they where known troublemakers.

The ‘Leader’ of the boys smirked at his friends and then walked over to Dina.

“Say, watcha’ got there?” He said in a mockingly sweet tone.

Dina didn’t catch the menace in his voice and instead smiled and held out the flowers. “I’m picking flowers for my Mama! I can turn them into a necklace or a crown or-” The boy suddenly grabbed the flowers from her hands. Dina began to panic and tried to get the flowers back.

“Ha! Keep trying circus freak!” The leader laughed as he kept the flowers just out of reach. The other two joined in with his cruel laughter. The boys began to run away and Dina chased after them desperately crying at them to give her flowers back.

The kids eventually ended up at the edge of a small cliff, small for adults that is. For a kid Dina’s age it would be quite the drop. The leader boy held the flowers off the edge and taunted her.

“Hey, you want these dumb flowers so badly!? Come and get them!”

Dina ran towards him and was almost able to reach the flowers when the boy suddenly moved out of the way and pushed her down the cliff. She let out a loud scream as she tumbled down into the forest below.

“H-hey man that was too far!” One of the boys shouted at the ‘Leader’

“Yeah! We should go get her, she could be hurt!” The other boy added Take her to the hospital or something!”.

“No way! We do that and we’ll just get in trouble for hurting the little freak in the first place!” The ‘Leader’ scoffed as he threw down the flowers. He motioned his two lackey’s to follow him back to town, which they reluctantly did.

—————-

“Huh? Do you feel that, Tien?” A small pale childlike being asked his three-eyed friend.

The two had made another stop on their nomadic travels, setting up their capsule house near a lake at the edge of a forest. Above the forest was a town they haven’t yet visited.

“What is it, Chiaotzu?” Tien replied. He stood up from his mediation, ready to resume his training.

“I feel someones Ki coming from the forest” Chiaotzu explained “It feels small but I don’t think it’s an animal… it feels like it may be a child, but they’re alone”

Tien closed his eyes. He could feel what his friend was describing. He was confused though. Why would a child be by themselves in those woods? There was a town nearby but it’s still way to far for a kid to be alone.

Tien opened his eyes again to reply to Chiaotzu, but the pale kid was nowhere to be found.

_He must have went towards that Ki_  Tien thought. He followed the energy to go after his friend.

—————-

It didn’t take long for Chiaotzu to pin down the location of whoever that Ki belonged to.

He saw Dina crying her eyes out on the forest floor. She had cuts and bruises all over and was covering her forehead. Whatever her hands where covering must have hurt a lot. Chiaotzu quietly floated up to the little girl and tried to calm her down.

“Hey there, whats wrong?” He asked in a friendly voice. Dina opened her eyes, still not removing her hands from her forehead, and came face to face with Chiaotzu. To Chiaotzu’s shock, instead of calming down the girl started crying even harder.

“WHAAAA!!! MONSTER!” The child bawled and screamed. 

“W-what! Monster!?” Chiaotzu frantically looked around but didn’t see anything. He noticed the girl had backed up away from him and he realized it was  _him_ she was afraid of!

“No! I’m not a monster” Chiaotzu slowly approached her again “I’m here to help you”.

“Y-you mean you’re *sniff* not going to hurt me?” The girl slowly opened her eyes again.

“No not at all” Chiaotzu shaked his head “You look hurt and I want to help”.

Dina seemed to be calming down and soon her tears stopped falling. She nodded while still not removing her hands from her forehead.

“Does your head hurt?” Chiaotzu asked.

“Ummm… yes but…” Dina looked down.

“Can I see it? You need to move your hands if I’m going to help it not hurt” He took out a first aid kit he had in his bag. He kept it on hand since Tien would often get hurt during training.

“You… won’t make fun of me?” Dina looked back up at Chiaotzu.

“I won’t, I promise” Chiaotzu gave her a reassuring grin.

Dina nodded and slowly removed her hands, revealing her third eye which had a nasty cut right above it. It was probably from a branch scraping her as she fell.

Chiaotzu couldn’t help but stare at her in shock. This girl had a third eye? Tien was the only person Chiaotzu had ever seen with one!

Speaking of Tien, thats when he arrived.

“Chiaotzu, what’s going on here?” He asked.

“T-Tien? Look at her” Chiaotzu pointed towards Dina, who was now looking at Tien.

Both three-eyed beings stared at each other for a while with both shock and confusion. Dina’s small voice broke the silence.

“You… have one too!” Her fear and sadness from earlier disappeared and was replaced with curiosity.

“Uh… yeah” Tien mumbled. He then noticed her injuries and decided to leave that issue for until after she was bandaged up. 

Tien and Chiaotzu disinfected her wounds and gave her band-aids where she needed them. She smiled up at the two fighters and thanked them with a big smile.

Tien asked why she what she was doing all the way down here and she described her earlier encounter with the bullies. Tien cringed. How could someone do that to a poor kid?

“Well. We’d better help you get home” Tien offered “It’s dangerous for a child to be alone out here”. Dina nodded again and went to stand up but ended up grimacing and falling back down. Her ankle was still hurting despite the first aid attention and couldn’t walk without pain.

Tien thought for a moment before coming up with an idea.

“C’mon, hold on tight and don’t let go” He said as he turned around and bent down so she could climb onto his back. Dina hesitated but then did as she was told. She let out a small yell of surprise when Tien started flying.

“You can fly!?” She exclaimed. Chiaotzu was floating next to them and told her that every person has the potential to learn this ability. She calmed down a bit and looked up to watch the clouds roll by. Suddenly though she felt a tickle in her nose. 

“Ahh, ahhh, aaCHOO!”

Chiaotzu almost fell out of the sky as he watched Dina’s transformation. Tien didn’t realize anything was different until he felt Dina begin to panic and pound her fists on his head.

“WHO ARE YOU!? WHY AM I IN THE AIR!? PUT ME DOWN!!!!” The once sweet blonde haired girl was now an angry blue haired one.

“Ow! Why are you-” He was cut off when he no longer felt her on his back. In her panic she had accidentally thrown herself off of him. Tien quickly dove down to catch her, his brain not even registering the transformation. The girl continued to struggle violently until he landed them both on the ground. Chiaotzu landed right after them.

“Hey, why the sudden burst of violence?” Tien closed his eyes as he rubbed his head. This girl was strong, he would probably have a bruise later. When he opened his eyes again they almost popped out of his skull. He stared slack jawed at the now blue haired kid in front of him.

Chiaotzu darted his eyes back an forth between the two. This was way too weird! First the girl has three eyes which was weird enough but now she has the exact same “disorder” as… Launch?

_Wait a minute_  Chiaotzu thought to himself  _Three eyes… two personalities… one blonde and the other blue…_  He let out a gasp at the sudden realization, and by the look on Tien’s face it seemed like he might have figured it out too.

“Why are you two weirdo’s starin’ at me!?” Dina growled “I’m not any weirder as you two!”

Tien tried to say something but his throat had gone completely dry.

With one more growl, Dina turned around and began to walk towards where the town was… hopefully.

Tien broke out of his trance and then ran over to her. “Hey wait!” He exclaimed “It’s still too dangerous!”

“I don’t need any grown ups to watch over me!” Dina raised her chin “I’m tough! I can take care of my self!”

Tien kept trying to convince the little girl to let him and Chiaotzu help her when the girl sneezed yet again, turning back into her blonde self.

The girl apologized to the two fighters and let them help her get home. After flying for a bit, Dina pointed out her house. The two landed and Tien felt a ball of anxiety in his stomach.

“Ah! Mama is back home early!” Dina pointed to the car in the driveway. She turned to Tien and Chiaotzu “Thank you so much for helping me!”

“No problem…” Tien said in a barely audible whisper. There was something he needed to know right now so he took a deep breath before asking. “Your mother…”

“Yes?” Dina looked confused.

“Whats… whats her name?”

“Her name? It’s Launch!”

Tien had felt like the ground beneath him had opened up and he was falling. He barely heard what the child was saying next.

“Oh! Tonight is pasta night and Mama always makes too much, so why don’t you two join us for dinner!”

“Ah… I… that’s…” He struggled to find the right words “Tonight…. isn’t good” he lied.

The child looked disappointed.

“But…” Tien swallowed as he began again “Lau- your mother… tell her to bring whatever leftovers she has to the capsule house down by the river, right on the edge of the forest”

Dina blinked at him for a bit before nodding.

Tien had turned around was was about to take off when another thought entered his head. He turned to face Dina again.

“And tell her… tell her it was Tien and Chiaotzu who helped you” He added. Dina nodded again and was about to thank him again before he told Chiaotzu it was time to go back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hhnnhghh i dont like how this turned out im disapponted because This is the scene i daydreamed the most about :(


	6. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it turns out I am a huge idiot who forgot to actually Describe what a key character looks like so I drew this to show you lil' babby Dina http://aliciasbakery.tumblr.com/post/172390272225/i-forgot-to-describe-a-key-character-in-the-latest :3c

When Dina walked into her house she could hear her mother talking on the phone. She sounded panicked.

“She’s 6 years old, both blue hair with blue eyes and blonde hair with green eyes-… yes, I said both! She changes when she-” Launch stopped talking when she heard the door open. She told whoever was on the phone with her that everything was ok now and hung up.

“Oh sweetie! Are you ok?” Launch ran up to Dina and scooped her into her arms “Oh no! Look at you! What happened?” She asked, referring to Dina’s bandages.

“Ah! It’s ok Mama! I fell down but some strangers helped me!” Dina tried to explain.

“Strangers!?” Launch set Dina down on the living room couch “I told you not to talk to strangers!”

“But they helped me! They even flew me back here”

Launch blinked a few times before replying “Flew?”

“Yeah! They could fly- Oh! I almost forgot to tell you” Dina suddenly got excited.

“What is it, honey?” Launch was still rattled from the day she had. She was working when she suddenly got a call on her break. It was the babysitter telling Launch that Dina had gone missing. She was in her Blonde form at the time and yelled some very profane things at the babysitter. Immediately rushed home and sent the sitter away, refusing to pay and began frantically looking for her daughter. She was in her Blue haired form speaking to the police when Dina suddenly walked in.

Dina had a huge smile on her face as her next words put Launch into a state of shock. “One of the people who helped me? He has a third eye like me!”.

“He…” Launch once again tried to steady her thoughts “He had a third eye?”

Dina nodded. “I was surprised too! His little clown friend scared me a bit at first but hes also nice”

_A man with a third eye traveling with a small clown-like person?_  Launch’s pulse quickened as she put together what this could mean  _But… how? That can’t be right…_

“Mama?”

“Did they tell you their names!?” Launch blurted out louder and more forceful then she should have “I’m sorry sweetie just… tell me if they did, please”

“Everyone is acting weird today” Dina pouted a bit “The three eyed man told me to tell you their names are Tien and Chiaotzu and that if we have any leftovers to bring them some. The three eyed man seemed like he wanted to see you but had to leave”

Launch’s hand flew up to her mouth as she gasped at her daughters words. Tien!? It really was Tien? And he wanted to see her? Well of course he did, he just found out he has a daughter and has had one for the past few years after the mother of said child up and left without a word. He probably wanted answers and Launch couldn’t blame him. She also wanted to see him again and often dreamt about him finally joining their family. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, she still needed to make dinner and she could think about this later when Dina was asleep.

Dinner went on without any interruptions. Launch knew Dina also had questions, the girl was very bright for her age, but had decided to not focus on that at the moment. A few hours after dinner she tucked her daughter into bed and kissed her goodnight. Dina had fallen asleep instantly but Launch was stuck staying awake all night due her her brain trying to process everything. She knew she had to go to him tomorrow, she had to face him and explain everything.

——

It was easier said then done, though.

It was a good thing it was Launch’s day off today. After dropping Dina off at school she headed down to where Dina had said Tien and Chiaotzu’s house was. She was correct it seemed as the same capsule house from years ago came into view. Launch, now in her Blonde state, got out of her car and began to walk up to the door while carrying a pot of leftovers from last night. She froze when she was halfway between the door and her car. What the HELL was she going to tell him?

_‘Hey Tien! Long time no see! Sorry I took off without telling you but I discovered you got me knocked up and I was too much of a coward to face you! funny how life works, huh? Anyway I hope you enjoy this!’_

No, this was going to be tough. She took a deep breath and moved closer to the door, her heart pounding. She was about to begin knocking when the door opened and she was face to face with the father of her child, the man she still loved years later.

The two stared at each other awkwardly for a bit before Tien let her in, stammering as he too was trying to find the correct words. Launch walked into the living room. The house looked the exact same as it did 6 years ago.

“Ever thought of redecorating in here?” Launch forced out.

“Uh… no… not really” Tien muttered under his breath “Just ah, put that down on the kitchen counter”

Launch nodded and set the pot down. She asked where Chiaotzu was and Tien explained that he was out in town. Tien offered Launch some water which she gladly accepted since her throat was so dry. She sat down on the couch in the familiar living room. Tien sat down next to her and together they sat in silence, waiting for the other to say something. It was Tien who broke the silence.

“That girl” He began, trying to find the right words “She’s… she’s mine, isn’t she?” He already knew, but he needed to hear it.

“Yes” Launch replied “Listen, Tien I’m-’

“Is she the reason you left?” Tien interrupted her.

Launch felt her body go cold. Tien’s face showed no real expression so she had no idea if he was angry, sad, happy, anything. She knew she had to be honest and there was no backing out of this.

“Yes” Her reply was barely a whisper. Tien turned to face her and she knew she had to explain herself.

“I was scared, Tien” She began “Not of you, but… I couldn’t bear even the small possibility of you rejecting me. I’m a damn coward, ok? I can’t deal with heavy emotional stuff and-” She turned away from him when she felt tears start to form. These last few years had really softened her.

“I knew that… I knew this would be a problem for you in regards to your training. I knew even just me by myself got in the way so a fucking baby would screw everything up!” Her voice cracked and her tears had really started to flow “I… didn’t want to leave. I knew it was the wrong decision I should have told you! You had every right to know but… then I’d think of you sending me away and wanting nothing to do with me and I just  _couldn’t_ , Tien!”

At that she suddenly felt his arms around her as he embraced her. She was openly crying now and it hurt Tien’s heart to see her like this. He had seen Blue cry a few times but Blondie? She stayed strong in every situation, the worst he saw her previously was during that earthquake.

“I’m terrible, aren’t I!? I’m fucking awful!” This was the first time in years Launch had let herself sob like this.

“You aren’t, don’t say that” Tien continued to hold her and calm her down. Yes, what she did was not the best thing, but he could understand completely why she did. He was never that great a lover to her. They would spend passionate nights with each other but then he’d get up before her to train, leaving her alone in bed. He didn’t really show much affection to her at all even though his feelings for her where strong. He didn’t know how, mostly, and was afraid of screwing up. Fat bit of luck that did.

Launch eventually stopped crying and slowly pulled away. Her eyes where still bloodshot.

“I’m sorry I just…” She wiped her remaining tears away with her sleeve “I never imagined seeing you again would be like this” She sat there for a moment before moving to get off the couch “I’ll get going”

“No” Tien grabbed her arm and pulled her back down, looking straight into her eyes.

“Launch, please listen to me” He said as he let go of her arm. She looked back at him with a confused and shocked expression.

“I will admit this is all very sudden, but after thinking about this all last night and finally seeing you again, I  _know_ what I want” 

Launch was about to ask what he meant when his next words truly shocked her.

“I want to stay with you, I want to be a part of her life, of  _your_ life” He explained. Launch stared at him and was speechless, did he really just!?

“Please” He asked after a deep breath “I just- I, I… I don’t want to lose you again!” He was frantically thinking about what to say next when Launch suddenly leaned forward to claim his lips.

They practically melted into each other and in a blur where up in his room pulling off each others clothing. They couldn’t wait to feel the others skin against theirs, to finally feel that passion they had felt all those years ago. Neither lasted long, in their rush of emotions, they couldn’t. Soon they where laying down in each others arms, reveling in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

“Did you really mean that? What you said earlier?” Launch asked while running her hand over his chest. She had sneezed somewhere during all that and was now in her Blue haired state.

“Yeah, all of it” He softly replied.

“What about your training?” She asked. Lifting up her head to look at him.

“Too tell you the truth, I’ve hit a plateau as of late” He began “I won’t be getting any stronger if I don’t change up my training”

Launch looked confused so he continued to explain.

“Well, teaching is actually a great way to better yourself. There are things you just can’t learn by training alone, Chiaotzu basically knows everything I know”

“You’d… like to teach her?”

“Yes” Tien nodded before thinking that  _might_ not be something Launch would want him to do “Uh, I mean if… you’d be ok with that. I would also want to start a dojo or something so I don’t have to teach her to fight if-”

Launch leaned up to kiss him. “No, it’s perfectly fine” She smiled sweetly “I know she has the natural talent for it, her being your daughter after all”

Tien smiled back at her and got lost in those beautiful blue eyes. He could feel, what was it,  _butterflies_? In his stomach?

_I love you_  he was about to say that when his brain managed to catch up with his mouth and he stopped himself.

Launch laid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat for a while before noticing the clock.

“Oh! We should get going now” She said as she gathered up her scattered clothing.

“Uh, we?” Tien began to gather his clothes as well.

“Well, I should pick her up soon” Launch said as she pulled on her top. “And I think today would be a great day to be formally introduced to her, right?” She turned to smile at him.

Tien was feeling excited and nervous at the same time. It would be his second time meeting her, but this time actually knowing who she is. He knew he’d have to tell her too and hopefully this would be the start of them all living as a family. The idea warmed his heart.

“Yeah… I’d like that” He returned Launch’s smile and leaned down to kiss her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI IS IT NORMAL TO CRY AT YOUR OWN WRITING???????????


	7. Family

As the two made their way to the door, they could both feel their hearts pounding in their chests. Tien was blushing and looking away from Launch which made her laugh. They had just had sex, and a simple walk to outside was making him blush? He could be so adorable some times.

As Tien opened the door, another familiar voice greeted them outside.

“Launch!?”

Before Launch could react to her name she saw a blur and then felt two little arms around her. It was Chiaotzu!

“Its really you! I knew we would see you again!” He had a huge smile on his face “So that little girl really is yours and Tien’s daughter?”.

“Yeah, she is” Tien awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he said this.

The three of them made their way to Launch’s car as she explained to Chiaotzu where they where going and what was going to happen. Both Tien and Chiaotzu where super excited, but Tien was mostly nervous. He listened in to Launch and Chiaotzu talk about Dina, her personalities, her hobbies, how she loves the outdoors, but Tien couldn’t help but worry about what he was going to do.

He told the truth when he said he wanted to be a part of their lives, of course he did. But would he even make a good Dad? He had no real experience with children and knew nothing about parenting! And what did this mean for him and Launch? He still loved her after all these years and would do his best to show how much he cared for her, but what even  _where_ they now?

His thoughts where interrupted when Launch announced that they have arrived at the school. Launch quickly identified Dina among the large crowd of children and motioned for her to get in the car. Dina was in her blue haired state and was looking apprehensive, glaring at the passengers in the car.

“Why are they here?” Dina asked, still glaring at Tien and Chiaotzu.

“They’ll be staying with us for dinner” Launch replied as her daughter sat next to Chiaotzu in the back seat.

“Why? I don’t want them to” Dina turned her head away from everyone else to look out the window.

“Well, they are the reason you where able to make it home last night” Launch replied. It seemed like she was used to Dina’s little ‘moods’. “You do remember that, right?”

“Yeah, my memories are fine! They’re gettin’ better” Dina replied defensively. “Those two are annoying though… I told them I could make it back by myself!”

“No, you couldn’t” Launch began to drive “You should be grateful for these two! Show some appreciation”

Dina grumbled and turned to Chiaotzu. She guessed she might as well make some conversation.

“Who are you two” She asked maybe a bit too forcefully.

“Uh, well, I’m Chiaotzu” Chiaotzu pointed to himself “And that’s Tien” he pointed to the front passenger seat. Tien turned to the back seat to look at Dina and awkwardly waved at her. Dina stared at him and after a minute or so spoke again.

“How did you get yours?” She asked, pointing at her own third eye.

It took Tien a few seconds to register her question. “I um… I was born with it, I suppose”

Dina’s blank expression didn’t change. “Did your parents have one?” She asked again.

Tien waited a bit before answering again “I… Don’t really know, actually. I assume so”. He didn’t remember his own parents and in fact didn’t even know if they where still alive. All he remembered about his childhood was that horrible Crane School.

Dina’s expression seemed to soften a bit. She was about to say something else when they arrived at her and Launch’s house. Launch opened the door to let everyone in. 

“Make yourselves at home!” Launch announced to her two guests. Dina was still standing in the doorway. “Ok Dina, you can play outside but don’t go too far!” Launch sighed. Dina nodded and ran off to the back yard.

 After the little girl ran off to play, Launch turned to Chiaotzu “How about you go with her? Don’t worry, she’ll warm up to you soon”. Chiaotzu nodded and flew off to the backyard, leaving Tien and Launch alone.

“Tien, help me with dinner please?” Launch asked as she made her way into the kitchen. Tien followed. He was struggling with finding words to say, but Launch was the one who led the conversation.

“I’m just making chicken salad tonight. Somethin’ simple, even you shouldn’t be able to screw it up” Launch smiled up at him, which caused him to blush a bit. She knew that smirk did things to him.

Launch prepared the kitchen and instructed him on what to do. Simple stuff like cutting the lettuce. Launch would do the ‘harder’ stuff since Tien was never the best cook.

“So, we’re gonna have to figure out how this is gonna go” She began as she got out the ingredients. “We should tell her tonight, after dinner would be the best time and we should also wait until she sneezes and turns into her blonde state”

Tien nodded and did what he was instructed, hoping he wouldn’t cut himself with the knife. “You don’t think she’d handle it well with her current personality?” He asked.

“She can be a little… unpredictable with stuff” Launch set up the oven and put in the chicken “Her blue personality isn’t that great with new people in general, as you’ve already seen. Blonde Dina is a lot more sociable and I just feel like it’d be easier for her in that state”

“You mentioned memories earlier” Tien replied “Are you teaching her the same skills Roshi taught you?”

“Yeah. The old geezer was right, it really does seem like I was supposed to learn how to deal with two personalities much earlier… but sadly that didn’t happen until I was an adult”

Before, Launch’s personalities couldn’t remember anything the other had done. Luckily, even though it took a long time, both sides where able to share one mind. There is still the occasional memory loss, but nothing as severe as full on blackouts.

Launch and Tien finished preparing dinner and called for Dina and Chiaotzu to come in. To Launch’s delight, Dina was smiling and happy even though she was still in her blue haired personality. It seemed like she and Chiaotzu where becoming fast friends.

Dinner went by perfectly fine, although there was some awkward question dodging with some of Dina’s questions about how Tien and Chiaotzu knew her mother. After dinner, Launch and Dina ended up sneezing, both changing into their sweeter personalities.

Launch gathered up the dishes and put them in the sink. When she was done she told everyone to gather in the living room. Tien felt his heart begin to race again since he knew what was going to happen. He still didn’t feel ready to announce something like this. He knew Launch was nervous about it too.

Everyone sat down and, after silently asking Tien if he was ready, Launch began speaking to her daughter.

“Dina, there’s something very important I need to discuss with you” She began.

Dina had a look of fear on her face. “If it’s about what happened at school today, I didn’t do it! I swear! It was another kid who-”

“No, no, no” Launch chuckled and waved her hand “You aren’t in trouble, it’s just…” she trailed off a bit, trying to find the correct words to say. After a deep breath, she continued.

“A while ago, you asked me why all the other kids had dads and you didn’t” Launch said “I told you that you did have one but he wasn’t able to be with us at the moment, but… hopefully you’d be able to meet him one day”

Dina nodded along to Launch’s words. The atmosphere of the room was very tense.

“Well, it seems like that day was closer then I thought” Launch rested her hand on Tien’s. Launch looked up at Tien and nodded, telling him that it was his turn to speak. Dina moved her gaze from one to the other, obviously a bit confused at what was happening.

“What your mother means to say is…” Tien gulped and took a deep breath “… and I’m sorry it took so long for you to… to finally know” He took another deep breath before finally saying what needed to be said “Dina, you’re my daughter”.

Launch, Tien, and Chiaotzu all had a look of uncertainty on their faces as they watched Dina take in what had just been said.

“You’re… you’re my dad?” Dina’s lip began to quiver as tears began to form in her eyes. Tien was about reach out to comfort her when suddenly she flung herself towards him and gave him a tight hug as she began sobbing. 

Tien had an almost comical look of shock on his face and stayed frozen not sure what to do, until he saw Launch make a hugging motion. He took this as her telling him to hug his crying daughter and he did, holding her close. Dina was still loudly crying and she began to speak.

“I-I knew that… I would… see you someday!” She said in between sobs “Mom told me… stories about you and it’s always been one of my biggest dreams to finally meet you!”

“I’m…” Tien swallowed the lump in his throat as he also began to cry “I’m so,  _so_ , sorry it took this long… I’m here now”

“Please… don’t leave me again!” Dina hugged Tien even tighter. Tien patted her head trying to soothe her.

“I promise” He whispered, his voice shaking a bit “I’ll be here for you, you don’t have to worry”

Launch, and then Chiaotzu, joined the two in their hug. Everyone was crying tears of happiness.

 _We can finally be a family now!_  Launch thought as she wiped her tears. 

What she thought would only happen in her dreams, was now becoming a reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> um hi who's chopping onions?


	8. What needs to be said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL... i hope the wait was worth it because some big stuff happens here! Thank you for reading this btw it means a ton and I love hearing your feedback :D it encourages me to continue and knowing i'm making people happy with this gives me so much happiness!

The four of them managed to settle in as a family very quickly. It felt strange at first, suddenly having two more people in the house but everyone was happy with it. Chiaotzu was happy to have someone to play with, Dina was happy finally having a father, Tien and Launch where ecstatic to be together again.

Well, ‘together’ was one way of putting it. The two of them slept in the same bed, went on ‘dates’, but haven’t truly Officiated anything yet. Neither had told the other their true feelings, that they loved each other, deeply.

It was always on their minds whenever they where together and many,  _many_ , times they’ve gotten close to saying it only to clam up before it could get out. It was silly and they both knew it but for some reason it was something they couldn’t bring themselves to say.

Cherry and Poppy kept telling Launch to tell him each time the three where on break, they couldn’t understand why this was so hard for her. Launch herself had a hard time justifying her hesitance and just kept telling her friends she wasn’t ready yet, which everyone knew was a lie.

Despite this roadblock in Tien and Launch’s relationship, their life as a family was progressing neatly. Tien started up his own dojo, which the townspeople where excited about. The more people drawn to this town the better! And a talented martial artist like Tien would surely draw in lots of students.

Tien was enjoying his new teaching position, but his main priority was training little Dina. The girl had talent (being his daughter and all) and it was obvious that with the right teacher, she could be a very strong fighter. She was smart and was able to pick up on things quite easily but her two personalities made things a lot harder.

In her blonde form she was too hesitant and nervous to really perform any techniques, often worrying about hurting Chiaotzu (her training partner) or breaking the training dummies. 

Blue on the other hand had the opposite problem. She’d often get way too aggressive and completely tear through the equipment meant for training. Chiaotzu was luckily fast enough to dodge her attacks. What she had in power she lacked in technique.

Tien knew that the only way she would be able to reach her potential was somehow getting both personalities to almost act as ‘one’. Luckily, Launch was the one able to help Dina with that and often did exercises with her to help her with that.

2 years later, Dina was showing immense progress in both fields. She rarely experienced total blackouts anymore and was getting the hand of fighting. She was coming along so well that Tien knew it was time for her to be tested in some way, and he had the perfect idea.

There was one particular student named Reuben he has been having major trouble with. This man wouldn’t listen to anything Tien tried to teach and just wanted to learn how to fight, how to hurt others and nothing else.

One day, Tien told Reuben that he had a special challenge planned for him. If he managed to overcome this challenge then Tien would let him stay, but if he lost then he would be kicked out of the class for good. The day of said challenge soon arrived and all of Tien’s students, except for Reuben, where patiently for whatever it was to start.

Tien arrived and was followed by his family. Launch and Chiaotzu sat down on the benches with the other students as Tien and Dina moved to the main sparring area and faced Reuben.

“So, what is it?” Reuben asked “Do I gotta fight you or somethin’?”

Tien was quiet for a moment before answering with a simple “No”

Reuben looked both confused and angry. “Just tell me whatever ya got planned! Stop wasting time!”

Tien looked down at Dina. She was in her blonde haired state and looked a bit nervous, this was her first real fight after all. She felt a little better as her dad gave her a small nod before turning back to Reuben.

“This girl here will be your opponent” Tien announced.

“The hell? You’re makin’ me fight some little kid!?” Reuben looked shocked and could not believe what he was hearing “This some kinda joke?”

“It’s not a joke” Tien couldn’t help but laugh a bit “She’s my daughter, and I’ve trained her well. She’s stronger then she looks” Tien moved away from the two fighters.

Reuben gritted his teeth. What the hell was Tien planning? The dude must be crazy letting his kid who wasn’t even in the double digits yet fight a full grown man!

Tien cleared his throat and began to announce the rules of this fight. “We will be using tournament rules. Whoever gets thrown outside the marked area,” He gestured to the outlines on the floor which indicated the boundaries of the fighting area “Or gets knocked out for a count of three will lose. There will be only one fight so you both should try your absolute best”

The two fighters got into their position. Dina was obviously trying to imitate her dad and it was almost comical. This just made Reuben angrier and more embarrassed.

“The fight begins... NOW!”

Dina intently watched her opponent and waited for any sign of movement. As soon as she noticed Reuben’s feet begin to move to a running position, she quickly almost instantaneously moved herself behind him. Dina let out a yell as she landed a hard kick to Reuben’s back which threw him across the room, almost slamming right into the wall. Dina looked a bit shocked at what just happened and mumbled an apology only audible to herself.

Tien couldn’t help but smile. “The winner is, Dina!”. Their audience clapped as Dina smiled and blushed. Reuben got back up and made his way back.

“The hell was that, huh!?” The audience quieted at his exclamation “There’s... there’s no way that just happened! It had to have been some sorta trick!”

“There was no trick, you lost to her fair and square” Tien still had a smirk of pride on his face.

“But...! She’s just a kid! How the hell is she that strong?”

“She actually listens to what she’s taught, dummy!”

Tien, Dina, and Reuben all turned towards the voice of Launch who was storming up to Reuben. Reuben studied the woman’s face... something about her looked familiar.

“Wait a second... hey! It’s you!”

Launch just blinked in response.

“You’re that crazy bitch who threatened to shoot me and my buddy 8 years ago!”

Launch suddenly remembered where she met this guy before! Years ago back when she was trying to find a place to stay! He was one of the men who kidnapped Mr. Souffle!

“Heh, didn’t recognize you without your dumb mask” Launch laughed “Kidnapping old men, losing to a child, you’re still super pathetic aren’t you?”

Reuben clenched his fist in anger. He would not be humiliated like this any more!

“You... fucking bitch!” He raised his fist and was about to land a punch right on Launch’s face when suddenly his fist was caught by one of Tien’s hands. Up until then, Tien had been calm and collected. He now had the look of absolute rage and gripped the other mans fist just hard enough to not crush his hand.

Launch and Dina watched in surprise. Launch couldn’t remember seeing him this enraged before.

“You, get out of here now!” Tien demanded.

Reuben gritted his teeth and answered with a defeated “Fine”. Tien let go of his fist and the man stormed out, but not before sprouting some very profane language on the way.

Tien turned back to see the rest of his students staring in shock. He cleared his throat again and awkwardly dismissed his class.

“Are... are you sure, sensei?”

“Ah, yeah... class will resume next week”

The students shuffled out of the dojo, leaving the family. Launch, who had been lost in thought for the past few minutes, told Dina and Chiaotzu to go back to the house. She made up an excuse about needing to help Tien clean up.

After the two left, Launch turned to Tien who was looking away a bit shyly. Launch laughed and broke the silence.

“I could have taken care of myself there, y’know?”

Tien turned back to face her and mumbled “W-what do you mean?”

“That punk wasn’t that strong at all and you know I can handle myself, you didn’t need to interfere”

“But-...” Tien’s face was turning red. Of course he knew she could have defended herself, but something came over him and- “I needed to... protect you” he turned away again after he realized what he just said. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t stop digging himself a bigger hole though.

“I moved without thinking, I just... I feel the need to protect... those that I-” He stopped when he felt her arms wrapping around him and her head resting on his chest. She sighed as she listened to his racing heartbeat and felt him return the hug.

“Tien” Launch’s tone was serious, which made Tien’s body go numb. Did he do something wrong?

She gently pushed him back and raised her head to look at him. She put her hands on his shoulders and stood up on her tip toes to kiss him. He melted into the kiss and hugged her closer. Launch pulled back and looked deep into his eyes.

“Protect those that you...?” She whispered.

Tien gulped and knew he had to say it now, it was useless to deny what he felt any longer.

“That I love”

Launch smiled at him with such warmth. It wasn’t often she would let herself cry in her blonde state, but Tien could see tears begin to form in her eyes. She reached her hand up to the side of his face.

“I love you...” after she got her words out Tien, to her surprise, lifted her up into his arms and kissed her again. She passionately returned the kiss and let out a soft moan. Tien spoke when they broke apart for air.

“I love you so much” He managed to say while still gasping for breath. Launch leaned in and whispered against his lips.

“Please, show me how much”

Tien smiled. He would gladly show her.


	9. Day of the Tournament

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to make this chapter longer but it's already been a long time since I updated so I didnt want to keep people waiting too long! Also, happy belated birthday to Launch! (it was June 17th)

Things where going very well for the family of four ever since that day. Everyone was happy for Tien and Launch finally admitting their feelings and the two felt closer then ever.

Dina kept up with her training and was putting in more effort then usual for one particular event, the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament. Tien had deemed her strong enough to enter the junior division which made Dina very happy. She trained day and night for the next 3 years, trying to perfect her skills to the point her parents and Chiaotzu where a bit worried for her and told her to take breaks.

The day of the tournament approached fast and soon it was time. Sadly, though, Dina had caught a cold the night before.

“Dad, I swear I’m fine…” Dina whined in a groggy voice. She coughed into her pajama sleeve and Tien fixed her heavy blanket.

“No, you’re not well enough, I can’t let you fight in this state” He said as he patted her head.

“Can’t I just go and watch?” Dina knew there was no way she could fight today but she wanted desperately to be there in person to cheer her Dad on.

“I’m afraid not” Tien laughed a bit. He felt sorry for Dina though and did feel bad about having to make her stay home. “You can watch the tournament on TV, you wont miss anything” He kissed her head and turned to walk out of the room. Before he entered the hallway he turned to his daughter and smiled.

“I love you”

——

Launch was just about ready to leave for work when Tien came down the stairs. Sadly she wouldn’t be able to go either since she had to go in and deliver a lot of orders today.

“Good luck out there today!” Launch smiled after giving Tien a quick kiss. “I’ll be listening on the radio, I wish I could watch though”

“Knowing all of you are going to be cheering me on will give me the strength I need” Tien said while holding Launch’s hands, they where much smaller when compared to his.

The couple kissed again and Launch made her way to the front door. She called over Chiaotzu and gave him a hug before leaving. Tien also said his goodbye to Chiaotzu as he got ready to take off and fly to Papaya Island.

“You’ll do great today!” Chiaotzu called after him.

——

Tien felt strange going back to Papaya Island. He hadn’t been back here since King Piccolo attacked which was such a long time ago. The tournament seemed to be drawing an even bigger crowd then back before. Tien had never liked crowds.

He was wandering around a bit trying to find where to sign up for the tournament when he felt something bump into his leg. He heard a very familiar voice when he started to turn around to see what ran into him.

“Marron! You need to watch where you’re going!” The man said “Sorry about that, you look away for one second and they run off-” The man trailed off when he and Tien saw each other. Both couldn’t believe their eyes!

“Krillin? Is that you?” Tien asked. It sure looked and sounded like Krillin, although the hair was new.

“Tien!” Kirllin exclaimed, which confirmed Tien’s thoughts “Wow! It’s been such a long time!” He laughed.

Tien smiled at his old friend “It sure has” his gaze moved to the little blonde girl Krillin was holding.

“Ah! This is Marron, my daughter” Krillin explained “Marron, this is Tien! He’s one of my old friends!”. Tien could definitely see the resemblance, Marron looked just like Krillin but with blonde pigtails.

“You know Krillin, I almost didn’t recognize you with that hair” Tien laughed.

“Oh yeah, it was all my wife’s idea” Krillin nodded his head towards 18 who looked like she was at a stall getting some food.

The two talked some more and Krillin brought Tien over to where the rest of the group was. Tien felt happy seeing everyone again and wished Launch, Chiaotzu, and Dina where here. He would love to introduce Dina to the group.

“Yo! Is that who I think it is!?” Yamcha ran up excitedly to Tien “Damn it feels like it’s been forever!”

Tien couldn’t help but laugh. Bulma, Goku, Chi-Chi, all of the old group gathered around him. Tien was caught up on the events that had occurred in the past seven years, the biggest one being that Goku and Chi-Chi now have a second son named Goten (who was currently goofing around with Trunks). Goku was also back from Otherworld for the day.

“Oh, by the way, where’s Chiaotzu?” Bulma asked when she realized she hadn’t seen him.

“Ah, Sadly he couldn’t come today. He’s at home babysitting” Tien explained.

The group then stared at him with wide eyes at what he had just said. Tien was going to ask what was wrong when Yamcha chimed in.

“Did you say babysitting!?” His old friend asked

“Huh? Well I guess it would now be considered just looking over someone since she’s not a baby anymore-” Tien’s voice trailed off when it hit him. None of his friends knew about Dina yet. “Oh, right, guess I should explain” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

“You have a kid!?” Yamcha spoke up again “Damn, now I’m the only one without one”

Tien nodded “Yeah, she’s 11 years old now but sadly couldn’t come to the tournament due to catching a nasty flu. Chiaotzu is watching over her since her mother has to work”

“Oh that’s too bad…” Bulma said, then a thought popped into her head and she smiled “Speaking of her mother, who’s the lucky lady?”

Tien let out a small laugh and smiled before answering “It’s Launch, actually”

Instead of everyone being shocked again like Tien thought they would, the group actually seemed unsurprised. This confused Tien.

“Huh, so you finally figured it out?” Yamcha asked. Tien raised an eyebrow in response.

“Yeah she’s only been in love with you since the 22nd Tournament” Krillin laughed. Now it was Tien’s turn to be surprised. He knew Launch had feelings for him for a long time, but that long? Just how dense was he?

The group continued talking until it was time to sign up for the Tournament. As they all watched the junior division, Tien wished Dina could have been there. She was more then strong enough to take on these challengers although even he didn’t know if she’d be able to beat Goten or Trunks.

With each passing moment his turn to fight was getting closer. He knew he would do his absolute best to make his family proud.

Back home, Dina and Chiaotzu watched the TV intently waiting to see Tien fight. Launch kept the radio tuned into the Tournament so she could also follow along while she made deliveries in the city. She wished him good luck and knew he would do great.

Today would turn out to be quite a fateful one.


	10. Tragedy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this chapter took so long. It took a very long time to write even though it doesn't look like it. Hopefully I can get the next one out faster!

Back at home, Chiaotzu was watching the Junior Division of the Tournament. Meanwhile, Dina was busy focusing on her handheld game system instead of watching the fights.

“Dina? Aren’t you gonna watch the fights?” Chiaotzu asked.

Dina (who was currently blue haired) glanced towards him with her third eye and kept her other two on the game screen “Eh, they’re just a buncha’ kids, I know I could take ‘em if I was allowed to go” She bluntly explained “This part is boring. I’d rather watch the adults and cheer on Dad”

Chiaotzu was having trouble responding to that statement when he heard the TV announce that the finals for the Junior Division where about to begin, Goten VS. Trunks. From the very beginning of the fights it was obvious which two kids would face each other in the finals.

The fight ended up being a long and exciting one with both boys ending up going Super Saiyan and Trunks ultimately standing as the victor. Chiaotzu glanced back at Dina again and saw that her attention was now on the TV, she was staring wide eyed at the screen.

Dina noticed Chiaotzu looking at her and quickly turned away. “I’m still not interested in watchin’ a bunch of babies fight!” She said defensively “Besides, they didn’t do anythin’ impressive! So yeah they can turn blonde, but Mom n’ I can do that too”. Chiaotzu smiled and laughed a bit at this.

—

With the Junior Division over with, it was time for the main event everyone was waiting for. 

The Adult Division started out with a bang as Tien fought against Krillin. It was a close match that kept everyone guessing, but eventually Tien made it out as the victor. Back home, Dina and Chiaotzu cheered and hugged each other with joy! 

While listening to the match over the radio in her truck, Launch felt a little guilty rooting against one of the boys she looked after all those years ago, but knew rooting against the man she loved would make her feel just as guilty. She smiled to herself as she thought back to the first time she and Tien met, back at the Tournament all those years ago. If someone back then had told her that in the future, she and that mysterious three-eyed guy would be a couple and have a child together, she would not have believed them (although, she would have wanted to)

—

The spectators continued to watch and listen to the Tournament with excitement, but sadly things did not go as planned.

The next fight ended before it even started, with “Ma Junior” forfeiting the match against the mysterious Shin without throwing a single punch! The next match after that ended with Videl almost beaten to death. Dina had to look away from the gruesome sight, begging it to be over soon.

 After that, the next match ended with Gohan seemingly getting his life force stolen by two other participants. Things where not looking good for the rest of the event.

Shin finally revealed his true identity, the Supreme Kai. He told the Z Fighters about how the evil wizard Babadi was going to resurrect a powerful and deadly being by the name of Majin Buu. With Gohan’s stolen energy, Babadi now has enough to resurrect Majin Buu and needs to be stopped.

Shin explained all this while he and the others flew towards where Babadi was supposedly hiding. 

Tien couldn’t focus on any of this though. He felt a sense of dread that grew larger with each passing second. He began to trail behind before beginning to fly away from the others.

“Hey! Where are you going, Tien?” Goku asked.

Tien stopped and turned around to explain himself “I’m sorry, but I can’t leave Dina and Chiaotzu alone… I…” He composed himself and began to speak again before taking off “I can’t bare to think of them alone in a time like this. In case anything happens, I need to be with them”

With that he flew off, the sense of dread growing even larger.

—

It didn’t take long for Tien to arrive back home and as soon as he opened the door, Dina ran up and hugged him.

“Dad! Whats happening?” Dina, now in her blonde state, asked.

Tien kneeled down and wrapped his arms around her “Thank god you’re ok…” He whispered.

“I should be saying that! I was watching the Tournament and… there are bad and scary things happening! Chiaotzu and I where so worried something would happen to you” Tears began to form in her eyes.

Tien put his hands on her shoulders and smiled to reassure her “As you can see, I’m perfectly fine” He then put a more serious face on “But something is going on… I can’t say what it is, but I couldn’t leave you two alone. I’ll stay here just in case anything happens” He didn’t want to tell them the truth of what was happening, doing so would probably cause them to freak out even more. He thought of contacting Launch but reluctantly decided against it, hoping this whole situation would blow over and more people wouldn’t panic.

The next hour or so was quiet and unnerving. Dina and Chiaotzu where still very worried and where trying to distract themselves by playing games. Tien continuously internally panicked and wondered if he was doing the right thing, should he be fighting? Should he stay here?

The quiet was broken when suddenly their thoughts where invaded by Babadi’s telepathic powers. He spoke to all the people on Earth and forced them to watch as two entire cites where destroyed.

Tien felt his body grow cold and immediately rushed over to the phone to call Launch. He dialed but got no answer, he tried again and again as Dina begged to know what was happening. Tien hung up the phone and turned to Dina to finally explain himself.

After telling Dina and Chiaotzu the truth he tried to call Launch again, but just like the other times he tried there was no answer. Tien was seething with anger towards this Buu creature.

_‘If ANYTHING happens to Launch I’ll-’_

His thoughts where interrupted when he suddenly sensed a familiar Ki approaching. It was still far away but it was unmistakably Launch! She must be headed home after all thats happened. He began to feel relieved but that was also interrupted when he heard a loud distant explosion outside. The three ran to the window and saw hundreds of energy beams heading towards earth.

“CHIAOTZU! DINA! GET DOWN TO THE BASEMENT RIGHT NOW!” Tien screamed. Dina was too scared to move and Chiaotzu had to drag her down while she screamed in protest. Meanwhile Tien ran outside and flew at top speed towards where Launch was. He could hear screams of terror all around him as those energy beams crashed to earth, doubtlessly killing tons of people. He silently apologized to all those he couldn’t save.

Launch’s Ki level suddenly dropped as he finally reached her location. He looked down in shock as his body grew cold once again. His blood felt like it had turned to ice as he landed next to her.

Launchs truck was on its side with a giant hole in it, obviously from one of those energy beams. Launch herself was laying on the ground next to the wreckage and didn’t seem to be moving. Tien ran towards her and kneeled down, reaching out with a shaky hand to touch her. A small feeling of relief passed through him when he felt her Ki, it was very faint though, almost nonexistant.

He gently brought her into his arms and gasped. She was covered in blood from the injuries she suffered by being thrown out of her vehicle and one of her legs seemed to be broken.

This didn’t feel real. Tien didn’t want this to be real. He sat there holding her saying nothing until he heard a faint gasp come from her lips.

“Ti… en?” Launch’s blue eyes where half closed and unfocused as she tried to speak.

“Launch!? No, don’t speak! You need to save your energy-” Tien panicked. Launch didn’t seem to hear him and continued to speak.

“I’m sorry… I have to leave you like this” She managed to get out in a weak and shaky voice “P-please take care of them both…”

Tien’s eyes began to well up with tears as he refused to believe what was happening. He begged and pleaded with her but it was soon apparent that she was correct, she was going to die. Her breath was getting more and more shallow and she couldn’t even keep her eyes half open.

“They need you… please stay strong for them…” Her voice was practically inaudible right now. “I… l-love… you…” With her last breath her body collapsed lifelessly in his arms.

Tien shook his head and stared at her body with shock. It took a while for him to register what had just happened and when it finally did, he began to cry the hardest he ever had in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again. I am. SO SORRY.


	11. Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is chapter is short, even for this fic but I didn't want to make you guys wait super long again! Also this was meant to be a part of the previous one but I felt it worked more if they where separated. Next up after this is the epilogue! So look forward to that!!!

After what felt like an eternity of crying, Tien heard Dina softly land down next to him. He couldn’t face her, he felt ashamed he couldn’t do anything to stop her mother from dying like that.

“Mom...?” Dina asked in a soft voice that gave away the fact she was also crying.

“I’m sorry...” Tien whispered as he gently placed Launch’s body on the ground. He still couldn’t face his daughter or even stand up. He felt like his soul had left his body, like a piece of him was gone. He cursed himself for not being able to save her or at least say something meaningful to her. His last words to her where meaningless and only worked to pointlessly convince himself she would live.

He felt pathetic and worthless. Maybe it would have been better if he had never came back into her life. Maybe she left all those years ago for a reason. If the two of them had never crossed paths again than maybe she would still be alive this moment. Hell, he couldn’t even face his own daughter who now more than ever needed his support. Was this the universe punishing him? Telling him that he would forever be a bad person with no chance of redemption.

“I’m so sorry...” He whispered again. He wasn’t saying it to any one person, not Launch, not Dina, not Chiaotzu. Maybe he was saying it to everyone. Apologizing to the entire universe.

He took a deep breath and slowly stood up. He finally turned around to face Dina and saw that Chiaotzu was with her. Both of them where crying, Dina covered her face as Chiaotzu rested his hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her.

Tien closed his eyes and clenched his fists as he cursed the evil creature that caused all this. That demon needed to be destroyed for all the sorrow it had caused. 

Tien knew he wasn’t strong enough to take it on but... he had to. He needed to face that thing and maybe get even a small amount of revenge for Launch’s death. He was a martial artist, a warrior, he had to fight against this monster.

“Dina, Chiaotzu...” He began. The two looked up at him with tearful eyes. “I can’t stand back any longer, I need to join the fight against this demon no matter what”

Dina gasped as her face went pale. She then ran up to Tien and grabbed his shirt.

“NO!” She cried “You can’t! You’ll die! And I can’t lose you too!”

Tien wrapped his arms around his daughter as she sobbed. “I’m sorry” He apologized again. “I need to try and stop this monster, even if it kills me” Fresh tears where forming in his eyes again “I love you so much, Dina. Please stay strong, even without me”

Dina protested again while hitting her fist against Tien’s chest. She had just lost her mother, her entire town, and now she was going to lose her father. She hoped this was all some sort of cruel nightmare and she’d wake up to her families smiling faces.

Tien reluctantly pulled Dina away from him and looked at Chiaotzu. Seeing his adoptive brother’s crying face hurt just as much.

“Chiaotzu... Please hold her back as much as you can” Tien said this as he turned around and prepared to fly off.

Dina began to chase after her father but she suddenly lost the ability to move. Chiaotzu was using his telekinesis to hold her in place so that she wouldn’t chase after Tien. She continued to cry loudly until eventually Chiaotzu couldn’t hold her anymore and she collapsed onto the ground. Her throat was burning from screaming so much and her heart felt like it had been shattered. She covered her face with her hands and she cried yet again.

“He broke his promise!” She said in between sobs “He promised he wouldn’t leave me...”

Chiaotzu silently apologized to his niece. He felt as though words wouldn’t help in this situation. He knew exactly how she felt and tried to stop himself from crying. It didn’t work however, and the two of them ended up sobbing while holding each other.

They stayed like that for what felt like a lifetime. Even after they ran out of tears they just stayed like that, not wanting to face what had happened.

Although after a while something happened that was nothing short of a miracle. Dina’s head shot up when she suddenly felt a familiar Ki return. It... felt like her mother’s but that couldn’t be true! She was dead, she saw her body it was laying right behind her.

Dina slowly turned around and gasped as she saw her mother sit up. She was alive!? Dina didn’t even wait a second before running up and hugging her mother. Chiaotzu and Launch where both in shock but then remembered something

_The Dragon Balls!_

Launch smiled and hugged Dina and Chiaotzu. She stroked her daughters hair and kissed her forehead as she told her everything was going to be ok.

The reunion was interrupted however when a voice suddenly echoed in everyones head.

“People of Earth! I need you all to lend me your energy! Please put both your hands in the air and give as much as you can!”

Launch and Chiaotzu immediately recognized that voice and did as they where told. Dina looked at the two of them with confusion.

“It’s ok Dina!” Launch began “I know this person! I’ve known him since he was a little boy”

“Yeah!” Chiaotzu added “I know for a fact he’s trustworthy!”

Dina moved her gaze between the two of them for a bit before hesitantly putting her hands up. If her mom and her uncle trusted whoever this was, than so did she. It seemed that the rest of Earth didn’t trust him as much though.

The voice begged and pleaded with everyone to trust him and that he wasn’t getting enough energy. A leaf blew past Launch’s nose which caused her to sneeze and turn blonde.

“Dammit!” She cursed. She looked in the direction of town and got an idea though. She smiled as she took out the capsule containing her motorcycle and motioned for Dina and Chiaotzu to follow her. The three made it into town and saw that the citizens where afraid of this mysterious voice.

“HEY!” Launch jumped off her motorcycle “That man? I know him!  I have known him since he was a little brat and know for a fact he’s telling the truth!” She put her hands back up and called for everyone to do the same. The townspeople trusted Launch and agreed, giving the voice more and more energy. 

Eventually all of Earth gave their energy to help him (well with a little push from a certain Mr. Satan). He thanked everyone for their help and told them he finally had enough energy.

Launch and Chiaotzu smiled at the sky while they lowered their hands.

“Who was that?” Dina asked.

“An old friend” Both Launch and Chiaotzu replied. Dina and Chiaotzu then felt yet another familiar Ki heading towards them, it was Tien! They saw him flying towards them and smiled even wider. When he landed, the first thing he did was pick up Launch and hug her tightly, this shocked her a bit. When he kissed her this brought her out of her shock and she kissed him back.

“I love you” He said breathlessly the moment he pulled away.

“I love you, too” Launch smiled at him, her green eyes sparking.

Dina and Chiaotzu flew up and hugged them too, overjoyed their family was finally together again.


	12. Epilogue

Dina pouted as she followed her parents to the doors of the Capsule Corporation building.

“Oh come on Dina!” Chiaotzu giggled as he floated beside her “That dress suits you!”

“No it doesn’t!” the blue haired girl snapped “It’s too frilly lookin’ and dumb!”

“You liked it a lot not long ago” Launch turned around and smiled “Before sneezing, that is”

Dina opened her mouth to protest but couldn’t find the right thing to say; so she closed her mouth and continued pouting, her face as red as a tomato.

The four of them got to the front door and where greeted by Bulma, who was very happy to see one of her oldest friends again. She hugged Launch and the two blue haired women laughed.

“Oh? And who’s this cutie?” Bulma asked, looking at Dina.

“I’m not cute…” Dina grumbled, turning her eyes away from Bulma. Dina then felt herself being pushed forward a bit. She glared at her parents and then turned to face Bulma again. There was no way to get out of introducing herself and speaking to people she didn’t know, which just made her more nervous.

“… names Dina” She managed to mumble out “Nice to meet you…” She added flatly.

“She inherited her fathers social skills” Launch laughed. Tien turned towards her and raised an eyebrow. “Oh don’t worry, it’s just a little joke” She gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

 

Bulma invited the family inside. It seemed like most of the guests had already arrived (the Z Fighters and their families). Dina was still hesitant to go inside due to there being a lot of people but Chiaotzu grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, telling her he was going to introduce her to everyone. Dina protested a bit but was dragged off anyway. Launch was also dragged off by Bulma, leaving Tien in an awkward position since hes not the type of person to just walk up to someone and make conversation.

Tien made his way to the refreshments table and heard a familiar voice call out to him.

“Hey, Tien!” Yamcha said as he ran up to him. Tien smiled to himself and was grateful he now had someone to chat with.

—

Meanwhile Bulma and Launch where catching each other up on what happened since they last saw each other… or rather, Bulma was excitedly asking many questions about her and Tien’s relationship. Bulma rarely gave Launch enough time to give a full answer before asking more and more questions! It had been many years though and suddenly reappearing with a child after all this time would make anyone curious.

“Ahhhh! I’m so glad you two are finally together” Bulma said after taking a sip of her wine “Although… I am a bit disappointed I wasn’t invited”

Launch raised an eyebrow at her friend. Invited? Invited where? Bulma saw Launch’s confused expression and said something that made Launch choke on her drink.

“The wedding of course~!”

Launch set her glass down and looked around the room hoping nobody heard what was just said.

“Th-the uh, what?” Launch stammered in shock as wiped her mouth with her napkin.

It was Bulma’s turn now to raise an eyebrow. “The wedding? I would have loved to go, y’know, especially after not seeing you for so long”

“Ah…” Launch finally composed herself “Well there wasn’t… really anything to invite anyone to” Launch’s face was beginning to turn red.

“Oh? Did you two not have a ceremony?” Bulma asked.

“No, there wasn’t anything  _like that_  at all if you get what I’m saying”

It took Bulma a few seconds to realize what Launch was saying.

“You two aren’t married yet!?” Bulma gasped. Launch quickly leaned over and put her hand over her friends mouth.

“ _Shhhhhhh_!” Launch hissed. Dammit this was getting awkward. She did a quick glance around the room. It looked like nobody heard Bulma so she sighed and leaned back into her seat. She might as well explain herself.

“No, we aren’t” Launch began “And it’s not that I don’t want too! I do, but it just… hasn’t come up yet”

Bulma was still in a state of surprise. From what Launch had told her it seemed the two have been together for quite a while, not to mention their child is almost a teenager. Tien always seemed a little oblivious but surely Launch would have brought it up by now.

“So he hasn’t asked yet?” Bulma asked. Launch shook her head ‘no’. Bulma leaned back in her chair and smiled “Well, if he won’t ask,  _you_ could always do it!”

“Yeah I could, but” Launch began to twirl some of her blonde locks with her finger “Tien is so nervous when it comes to new ‘Life Stuff’. It took him forever to admit his feelings and even hold my hand in public… I don’t wanna spring something like that on him out of the blue!”

“You live together, you love each other, you are raising a child together, if he’s happy being with you for this long I am positive he will want to marry you!”

Launch opened her mouth to protest but closed it without saying anything. Bulma was correct… but still, it’s not an easy thing to just come out and say no matter how much she wanted to.

“I need a refill” Launch stood up with her empty glass and headed to the refreshment table. She needed to clear her head.

—

Tien sighed as he reached the refreshments table. It was nice to talk to Yamcha again but then he began getting on his case for not proposing to Launch yet. No matter what he told his old friend nothing got through to him and it was really stressing him out. He didn’t drink much but the conversation was stressing him out and he needed to calm down.

All he could think about was finally asking Launch to marry him. Hell there where a few times he almost asked her but he always lost his nerve at the last minute. Hearing someone elses thoughts on the matter though… was giving him a bit more courage, maybe he could do this… someday at least.

When he reached his hand out to grab a bottle of wine, he was surprised when his hand brushed against Launch’s. The couple stared at each other, the conversations with their friends playing in their heads. After a minute or so of not moving or saying anything, Launch spoke up.

“H-hey, uh, can I speak with you? In private?” She asked in a low voice, not wanting others to hear and get the wrong idea. Tien nodded and followed her into the hallway where there where no people around.

Normally being alone like this would be a bit relaxing, but right now the air between them was tense and awkward. Their hearts where pounding and their faces where crimson, both worried they would end up blurting out what their friends have been telling them to say. Surprisingly, Tien was the first to speak up.  
  
“So… how was your chat with Bulma?”  _Yes, just start with small talk_  Tien thought  _That’ll help.. hopefully_

“Ah it was good” Launch stammered “She mostly just asked questions about, well, us” She forced out a laugh.

“O-oh?” Tien was beginning to think this would end up being easier then he originally thought “What kind of questions?”

“How long we’ve been together, how we ended up together, basic stuff like that”  _Asking if we where married_  Launch began playing with some loose strands of hair again.

“Y-yeah… Yamcha was asking the same stuff actually… seems like our old friends are curious about a lot” Tien absentmindedly scratched the back of his head.  _Launch seems nervous… what else was Bulma asking her?_  He thought.

“Tien,” Launch began after taking a big deep breath “You love me, right? You like being with me…?” Damn the blonde side of her was not good at the super delicate emotional stuff. She wished she could force herself to sneeze.

“Of course!” Tiens eyes wided in shock “Why are you asking? Did… did I do something wrong?”

“No! Not at all!” Launch reassured him quickly “I just…” she took another deep breath “I like being with you, living with you, and I can’t imagine life without you”

“Launch…” He whispered “Yeah…. I feel the same way” Tien moved his hand to rest on hers. He could feel her shaking a bit. It hit him that they really didn’t know what would be coming in the future. This planet gets attacked all the time, they have both died at least once! Sure they where brought back but who knows what could happen, and if they would be brought back next time. If he waited any longer to ask he might never get the chance… even if she says no, he knew he still needed to get it out there.

“Launch… theres something I need to ask… something I should have asked a long time ago”

Launch lifted her head to look into his eyes. “Oh… y-yeah I actually have somethin’ to say too” She almost whispered   _Just get it over with, Launch! this is your perfect chance!_

The two stood there for a while waiting for the other to ask their question. The silence between them was getting unbearable, when suddenly they both blurted out what had been on their minds at the exact same time.

“Will you marry me?”

They stared at each other in shock for what seemed like an eternity, before breaking the silence with an awkward and relieved laugh. Launch rested her head on Tien’s chest as he held her, both of him laughing with tears of joy pricking their eyes. Tien lifted up Launch’s head and lowered his mouth to hers.

—

It was about an hour later when the two made their way back to the main party room (Launch was lucky she still knew the way to the guest room she used to uses when she crashed at Bulmas place, or else she and Tien would probably have been caught during their ‘private time’)

Bulma saw the couple come back and walked over with a big smirk on her face. She leaned to Launch’s ear and whispered.

“The back of your dress is unzipped”

Launch, now with blue hair, quickly fixed what her friend had pointed out. Before walking off, she turned back and walked towards Bulma again after motioning to Tien it was ok for him to go back to the main group.

“I guess I should thank you, Bulma” Launch smiled “Lets just say… your advice worked”  
  
“Ooooo! I knew it was time for you two!” Bulma brought her hands to her mouth to stifle a squeal.

“C-calm down!” Launch blushed and tried to get Bulma to be quieter. She didn’t want to draw a huge crowd.

“Oh I have to go dig out my old planner! This is going to be so exciting!” Bulma began to walk off when she and Launch heard Yamcha’s voice.

“What’s gonna be exciting?” He asked.

“Lets just say  _a certain couple_  will be tying the knot!” Bulma smiled and hugged Launch who was still blushing hard.

“Wow! You and Tien are getting married? Heh guess I did help” Yamcha smirked to himself.

“Mom and Dad are getting married!?” Dina happily asked as she and Chiaotzu ran over.

“Wow! Congratulations! When will the wedding be?” Chiaotzu flew up and hugged Launch.

It didn’t take long for the whole party to hear the news and start congratulating the couple, which embarrassed them both. This would be a very long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all soooo much for reading! This is the end of the first part of the story! I will begin the continuation sometime soon so look forward to it :D


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